Earlier this month pictures emerged of Syrian children in Aleppo setting fire to tyres to create ‘no-fly zones’ for the planes carrying out airstrikes.

The “little heroes” are among civilians burning tyres in the devastated city as the Syrian government and its Russian allies bombard hospitals, markets and aid warehouses, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The children hoped the smoke would confuse the planes bombarding them in the rebel-controlled half of the city, which is facing a humanitarian disaster.

Pictures shared online show children posing beside blazing piles of tyres, while commenters called them “the new generation” of Syrian activists.

The children are among 300,000 people facing desperate conditions as bombs pound their neighbourhoods.

Food supplies in Aleppo are expected to last only a few more weeks, and it was claimed earlier this year that there are only 25 doctors left in the city.